The summer of 2017 was met with dangerous levels of smoke in the greater Sandpoint area. This smoke was mainly coming over from forest fires in almost all directions, including fires in British Columbia, Montana, Washington, and Oregon.

Since early September, the air quality has ranged from moderate to hazardous, with a clear patch in the second week of September. On Labor Day, Sandpoint Idaho was reported to have the worst air quality in the nation, measured at 418 on the Air Quality Index (AQI).

The hazardous air quality has additionally negatively contributed to community, and school sporting events. Several outdoor games for soccer, football, cross country, etc. had been postponed or cancelled due to the smoky conditions.

Varsity football player Victor Zhong commented on the effects of the smoke, and the resulting cancellations of football games.

“The smoke had a big effect on football, because I had to practice at the fairgrounds which was not as fun because it’s not as big,” Zhong said, “We want to have games because that’s what we worked for.”

The community has responded appropriately to the abundance of some in the Sandpoint air. Through the days of hazardous air quality, one might have been able to see community members wearing masks as a method to block the smoke while outdoors. This is similar to the masks worn by residents of countries such as China, due to the dangerously